Tag: kids art

August 13, 2021

Kid’s 2021 Fall Creativity Sessions at 1+1=1 Classroom

An Introduction

Our Fall 2021 art sessions are in a series of 9 weeks spread over September, October and November on weekdays after school. We will also have a winter series in January, February and March, culminating in our 6th Annual Young Voices student art exhibit at 1+!=1 Gallery.

After reading this post, if you would like to register your child for one of our art classes, please go to our class registration page and choose the appropriate age group series.
Details
WHO:Kids who want to learn more about creative expression.
COST: Studio Class Series: $450 for 9 weekly studios in Sept, Oct, Nov
WHAT’S INCLUDED: All supplies and a snack each weekly session
SCHOLARSHIPS: We are able to give partial scholarships to families in need of assistance.
TIME: Mondays after school, 3 to 5:30pm
DATES: See individual age-group days on registration page

February 5, 2019

Young Voices 2019

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4th Annual Young Voices exhibit opens Friday, February 15th at 5:00pm

Please join us for an exceptionally wonderful event that supports blooming artists and local non-profits

Grab a snack and beverage, listen to youngsters and teens bravely deliver their artist talks, browse their exquisite work and choose a piece of framed, funky or elegant, ready-to-hang art for your home. The art is super affordable — and 75% of all sales go to local charities selected by the young artists themselves. What’s not to love?!

During the winter of 2018/2019, these students have worked with Maureen Shaughnessy in her studio, exploring different printmaking and painting mediums. Now, the gallery walls are theirs for the duration of the show which runs from February 15th- March 13th.

What’s so Special about the Young Voices art exhibit?

In preparation for this exhibit, Maureen’s students personally helped to mount the show; they chose, framed, signed and titled their pieces; helped to clean and paint the gallery walls and pedestals, wrote artist statements and gallery talks and, in return, gained life skills, generosity and confidence as young artists and entrepreneurs.

Artists featured are:

Ema Terry, Rachel Kuntz, Hannah Fleischmann, Adia Terry, Lilly Hamper, Evey Linden and Ciana Williams-Standley. These artists range in age from 9-16 years old.

The artists have generously chosen two local organizations as beneficiaries of the exhibit:

… and the winners are … God’s Love homeless shelter and the Holter’s Art for Survival Program.

As part of the preparation for this exhibit, we ask the students to research a list of a couple dozen local non-profits and to pick their top two or three favorites. They all come together and advocate — to each other — for their choices. This year we had some difficult choices to make. So many great organizations were on their short lists! After discussion and some lobbying, we use a consensus process to settle on two that everyone feels good about donating to. They are working hard to raise these funds, so we want them all to feel heard, and have ownership in the outcome.

As galleries do, artwork sales are split 50/50 with the artists. These seven youth will donate half of their commission and the gallery will donate all of ours. Your purchases encourage young artists in gaining confidence and contribute to these deserving local organizations.

Check out some of the exhibit highlights and behind-the-scenes pics:

For more, go to our Facebook event page or Maureen’s studio Instagram account. We’ve been posting photos throughout the months of preparation.

These classes and wonderful event would not be possible without the support of our community

We would like to thank the individuals who have made these classes and art exhibit possible with their own generosity. Christine Eckel donated all of the frames. Three anonymous donors contributed two full scholarships for students from low-income families. And the Alex Team asked 1+1=1 Gallery to manage an auction of Alexandra Swaney’s personal art collection, with proceeds going to our scholarship fund and to Musikanten Montana, two of her favorite causes. The Alex Team is MJ Williams, Nancy Owens, Melissa Kwasney, Nan Parsons, Bryher Herak and John Sims. It takes a village to raise a child. And a village’s engagement and commitment to each other, to create a great place to live for all.

To everyone who attends openings, purchases art, donates time and funds, comes in on ordinary days to view and appreciate the art of all of our artists: Thank you for your ongoing support.

~ Maureen Shaughnessy and Tim Carney

September 24, 2018

Studio Art Seshes for kids teens and adults

Studio Art Classes and One-on-Ones Start November 2018
My art classes are kinda un-normal:

I am offering some really fun art seshes this year. I am planning to teach teen one-on-ones; women's workshops and kids' studio seshes along with a couple of guest-artist one and two day workshops. These are not your typical "art classes" to learn a technique such as watercolor painting or drawing, although in the process of making, you will learn some great techniques!

I refer to my teaching as "studio creative seshes" and "expressive arts classes" because I go beyond technique. I encourage students of all ages to dive into a subject, explore unusual ways to express themselves and experience the delight of success no matter what you think you are capable of. I believe creativity exists in everyone and it needs to be awakened then nourished by building confidence, making stuff, playing around, contemplating the results with a critical eye, and actually getting down to it and doing. Stop thinking about making art and get doing!

May 29, 2018

June First Friday for kids of all ages

Please join us for Downtown Helena's June First Friday, at 1+1=1 Gallery. We're hosting a sidewalk cafe´with chalk games, kid-friendly refreshments and some adult-friendly art inside the gallery. Currently we are showing our annual art jewelry and figurative art invitational exhibit. Gorgeous art -- and lots of choice of one-of-a-kind jewelry in a wide range of prices. Hope to see you!

January 4, 2018

3rd Annual Young Voices Art Exhibit

mixed media on wood panel by Adia Terry

Our first show of 2018 is one of our favorites …

… because it makes everyone so happy and inspires us all to pay attention to the child-artist within. The third annual Young Voices art exhibit runs from February 2 through 19. Please join us for an opening reception with the artists on Friday, Feb 2 from 5 to 7pm.

An uplifting art show featuring works by seven 1+1=1 studio art students

Young Voices artists, ages 8 to 15, have taken art classes throughout the summer and many have continued with one-on-ones during the school year. Artists include Ema Terry, Adia Terry, Sophia Albright, Rachel Kuntz, Silas Fruge, Lilly Hamper and Scarlet Carpenter. (See photo albums below for some sneak peeks.)

Each young artist participates in the behind-the-scenes tasks of curating and mounting an art exhibit: from planning, promoting and mounting the exhibit to patching holes in the walls, writing artist statements, bios and short gallery talks – the lessons they learn are about life as well as art.

The student artists will be present during the opening reception to meet the public and give 1-minute gallery talks. This year we are showing sculptural works by the younger artists and plein-air paintings and drawings by the teens. You’ll be delighted and curious when you see the variety of techniques and creativity.

We encourage everyone to join us to support these young, brave creatives. Hope to see you Feb. 2nd, or if you can’t make it to the reception, please stop by the gallery to view the works between Feb 3rd and 19th.

Stretch Your Art Dollars

Each year our Young Voices artists choose two or more local charities to receive donations from the sales of their artwork. In years past, they have donated to the Holter Museum of Art, Mountain Meadow Preschool and Green Arts Montessori School, The Friendship Center and the YWCA. 40% of all sales are given to these non-profits by the kids and the gallery. The rest goes to the kids and to pay the expenses of opening night.

Through your purchases of their art, you boost the young artists’ confidence and contribute much-needed funding to these charities. Watch for more details in our next “love letter” and on our social media posts. If you do not currently receive our email love letters (aka newsletters) and you want to, please subscribe/sign-up here.

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Scenes from the summer Teen Art Adventures (plein aire painting and drawing:)

Scenes from Kid’s Summer Creativity Sesh, Summer of 3d:

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March 20, 2017

Teen Art Wanderings this Summer

By request of some of my older art students, I am trying something new this summer. It’s a series of plein-air drawing and painting classes for teens on eight Mondays. We’ll focus on learning to draw from life and nature, by observing carefully and practicing basic and more advanced skills.

The series is limited to just four girls. Each will get lots of attention and we can all go on our adventures in one car.

teen art wanderings course details:

Ages: for girls ages 13 and 14
Dates: June 12 – Aug 21 (with breaks) — see schedule below
Time/Day: Mondays 11am to 4pm gives us time to drive to our adventures, have a picnic lunch and plenty of time to make art.
Course is 8 sessions throughout the summer. Students must complete at least 6 sessions to keep the art kit at the end of the summer, and have the opportunity to participate in the Young Voices Art Exhibit during the school year.
Tuition & supplies: $320. Includes beverages and snacks. Students bring own brown bag lunch. Scholarships available. Please ask.
Transportation: students will be dropped off and picked up at 1+1=1 Gallery and will be transported by Maureen to wherever we are going that day.

Each of the 8 weeks we’ll go to a different place to draw or paint outdoors (unless it’s raining or snowing) click the pics below for details on that week’s fun:

In the Studio and Downtown Helena. Composition, Color and Drawing Basics. Lunch at the Parrot. (Start in the studio with overview of basics and mark-making. Then to the walking mall to practice what we learned. Lunch will be late, so make sure your girls have a healthy snack before they arrive.)

June 19 Boulder River: River & Mountain Landscapes. Drawing and mark-making with graphite sticks and ink pens. Picnic lunch at the river then spend our last hour soaking at Boulder Hotsprings.

June 26 Carousel and Reeder’s Alley: We’ll paint with watercolor pencils as well as ink pens and pastels. Picnic lunch then stop at Big Dipper for treats

July 10 Ten Mile Creek: Farmland, Botany Closeups & Skies using pencils and watercolors. Picnic lunch. If it’s hot we can dip in the creek!

July 17 Crystal Creek: Wildflowers, Flowing Water & Mountains. We’ll use pastels and watercolors. Flowers should be gorgeous this week! Picnic lunch and short hike.

Aug 7 Canyon Ferry Lake: Wetlands & Weather. Guest artist Kallie Audet will join us to show some of her acrylic painting techniques. Picnic lunch, plus treats at the Townsend A&W

Aug 14 Elkhorn Ghost Town: Artifacts & Buildings. Students may choose a medium they’ve used earlier this summer. Picnic lunch.

Aug 21 In-studio using reference photos to paint and draw with students’ choice of mediums.

Students get to keep their kit when they complete the course. We hope they become life-long creatives and art-lovers. We’ll make plans for the exhibit too!

What we’ll do:

Sketching, painting and a bit of photography

Things we’ll draw and paint:

Landscapes and close-ups; rivers, mountains, trees and grass; people, bugs and birds; natural scenes and city scenes; wildflowers and seedpods

mediums we’ll try:

Watercolors, water-soluble pencils, pastels, graphite and pencils, ink pens, mixed-media, acrylic paint, charcoal and collage.

Bonus Fun Thing:

This year will be our Third Annual Young Voices Art Exhibit at 1+1=1 Gallery (sometime during the school year.) All four of my teen adventurer-artists will be able to participate in the preparation for the exhibit, at no charge. (Students’ families pay for inexpensive frames.)

October 30, 2016

Forest Stream Prairie Opening Night

FOREST STREAM PRAIRIE 2016: featuring new work by Dan McArdle & Maureen Shaughnessy

Mounting an exhibit takes us a couple of days. We take down the previous exhibit and pack up pieces that have sold. Unsold pieces go into our art storage downstairs. Then we patch holes in the walls, re-paint walls and pedestals and clean up. Next comes arranging the new artwork, hanging it, setting out pedestals and sculptures … then lighting, labels, window decor and many other tasks. Whew!

Gallery window

Gallery Talk and Artist Demo

Pre-Opening Quiet: When we are done hanging and lighting the show, I like to take photos of the whole exhibit before the crowd comes. It’s quiet and I’m always really pleased with the new art and new arrangement.

Opening night was a blast! An appreciative crowd. Excellent gallery talks by the artists and a fabulous reception. Great way to spend a Friday evening in downtown Helena.

We are always so grateful for all the folks who attend the openings, listen to the talks and celebrate the artists with us on opening night. We also love seeing you any day we’re open. Sometimes a quiet afternoon at the gallery is the perfect time to really look deeply at the exhibits. Thank you for your support!

Our Back Gallery features artworks by artists we represent, including:

Peter Shaughnessy, Jean Albus, Trudy Skari, Patty Ceglio, Nancy Goughnour, Mary Beth Shaughnessy, Maureen Cole, Sarah Magar, Sam Briegel, Gregg Edelen, Elizabeth Hughes Bass, Andres Cross Guns, Tina Albro, John Andrew and Tim J. Carney.

Catching some time with friends in the studio behind the gallery

August 24, 2016

Thoughtful Self Portraits by Kids Creativity Sesh Students

Self portraits are a form of creative, artistic expression that dates back to the first mud-paintings on cave walls, and from classical painters and sculptors to contemporary artists. Most artists don’t create self portraits to sell. But it is an incredibly useful way to practice the arts of introspection, observance, self-knowledge and self-expression. For kids ages 9 to 13, introspection isn’t something they admit to doing regularly. I expected my students to be challenged, maybe uncomfortable, certainly pushed outside their comfort zones. They did some beautiful expressive work and I am sooo proud of them. Two students who could not attend today’s sesh will do this same project in one on ones with me later.

Watch for announcements and invitations to the 2nd Annual Young Voices exhibit opening November 8th where you will be able to see their artwork in person and meet the artists.

Today in our Kds Creativity Sesh we learned about self portraits and created two types of portraits.

First we watched a slideshow/collection of self portraits by artists both well known and unknown, including some by other students. Then we looked at some of the more unusual or creative self portraits and talked about why artists make self portraits and what they might be trying to express about themselves.

I gave my students an assignment to take lots of photos of themselves ( using a digital remote and an iPad on a stand) with the end result of 8 different emotional portraits. They chose their favorites to work with.

Next, the kids used either Photoshop or a mobile app to distill the color portraits to a black and white, posterized, sketch-ized or comic-ized image. We printed those on Bristol paper, glued them to very large sketch Bristol and they added paint and papers to create self portraits.

The students used some of the remaining expressive self-portrait photos to learn about enhancing the emotion of an image by the way one chooses to process the photo. Some of their photographic results are above.

Also, please check out some of their mixed-media self portraits below and let them know through comments, how you respond to their endeavors. Thank you!

Some of the photo-enhanced selfies:

October 14, 2015

Young Voices Exhibit Opens Oct 30

We invite you to an opening reception of our upcoming exhibit, “Young Voices” on the evening of Oct. 30th, at 1+1=1 Gallery. Please come support these young artists, ages 9 to 13, in their first group exhibit in Helena.

Artists featured in the exhibit are Adia Terry, Ema Terry, Hannah Martin, Lily Hamper and Phil Martin. These five artists have participated in summer creativity/art classes taught by Maureen Shaughnessy and have spent the month of October learning the behind-the-scenes of exhibit planning, promotion and organizing.

July 11, 2015

Kids Collage with Flub-ups, Oops and Leftovers

July 14th Kids Creativity Sesh

Flub-ups, Oops and Leftovers Make Cool Collages

Sometimes one of my paintings or drawings just isn’t up to snuff… But that’s okay. It’s chill. I don’t worry and — I definitely don’t toss it! That’s like gold in the hands of a collage artist (that would be you, or your kiddo, in this fun class.)